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BBC Local Radio to leave Medium Wave (AM)

DAB has been mentioned to be the replacement for AM radio in the UK though. Well I remember on this board it was mentioned that DAB Radio signals were flawed due to the high spending of more transmitters than Satellite Radio or Dashboard apps that connect to cell phone towers.
 
RadioPatrol said:
DAB has been mentioned to be the replacement for AM radio in the UK though. Well I remember on this board it was mentioned that DAB Radio signals were flawed due to the high spending of more transmitters than Satellite Radio or Dashboard apps that connect to cell phone towers.
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Several of my friends in the UK mention that DAB coverage "on paper" is sensational, but in apartments or offices and well-constructed houses, first floor reception in many places is impossible and portable devices have horrendous battery life.
 
Just to be clear, all these BBC local radio stations are available on FM, as well as DAB. So this isn't really an analogue switch off- not yet.

It's probably also worth noting that BBC local radio was supposed to be leaving AM about 25 years ago! The original plan was for the AM frequencies to be licenced to new commercial radio stations, but this only happened in a couple of places- London and Manchester. In Birmingham and Leicester the BBC used their AM frequencies to launch a new service for the Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi communities. And in the rest of England, BBC local radio continued on AM just as before.


That said, I agree with David's comments to some extent. Many DAB radios have rechargeable batteries, but those that rely on ordinary batteries are very bad for battery life, especially compared with AM radio. Being on circa 220 mhz also means in building reception isn't as good as FM, as David says, although that is partly offset by more transmitters.

Personally I tend to use wifi in the house and FM or DAB out and about. My car radio is still AM/FM, but I plan to change that at some stage.

Some of the very latest cars have 4g radio built into the dash, only time will tell if that will ultimately win out over DAB for the digital future......
 
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BMR said:
Just to be clear, all these BBC local radio stations are available on FM, as well as DAB. So this isn't really an analogue switch off- not yet.
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I wondered about that statement, which apparently came from the Bebe's own press release. But it is entirely possible that half of all BBC service listening is now on DAB, isn't it? The BBC data shows only a coupla' percent of AM listening, particularly to the Merseyside outlet.

That said, I agree with David's comments to some extent. Many DAB radios have rechargeable batteries, but those that rely on ordinary batteries are very bad for battery life, especially compared with AM radio. Being on circa 220 mhz also means in building reception isn't as good as FM, as David says, although that is partly offset by more transmitters.
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It sounds a bit like the MPs, happy with robust reception of DAB in the London district, need to get out into the countryside more.

One of my friends in Yorkshire says that taking a portable DAB on an outing requires a "satchel of batteries" to keep it going.

Some of the very latest cars have 4g radio built into the dash, only time will tell if that will ultimately win out over DAB for the digital future......
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I would imagine that there are some utterly confused consumers at this point. It was a lot easier when all you had to do was know that Caroline was on 199 meters (1520 for us Yanks).
 
DavidEduardo said:


I wondered about that statement, which apparently came from the Bebe's own press release. But it is entirely possible that half of all BBC service listening is now on DAB, isn't it?.
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It 's about half on *digital platforms*.- that isn't just DAB. Sure DAB is the most important, but internet listening is pretty popular as well. And all the BBCs radio stations (including local ones) are also available via OTA television. I've no idea how popular that method of listening is.

It's also important to stress this is just England..... Scotland, Wales and NI don't have BBC local radio as such. Radios Scotland,Wales and Ulster will continue on AM as well as FM, and there are no plans to change this at the moment.
 
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